1971: A soldier in the anti-government army of the Sudan holds his Kalashnikov AK-47 automatic rifle at the ready.

1971: A soldier in the anti-government army of the Sudan holds his Kalashnikov AK-47 automatic rifle at the ready.

Photo: John Downing, Getty Images

1971: A soldier in the anti-government army of the Sudan holds his... Photo-5635980.76606 - Houston Chronicle

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Taboola Gallery Frame Item-85307.76606 - Houston Chronicle

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1976: A Palestinian fighter sticks a portrait of Egyptian President Nasser on the wall of Holiday Inn hotel after Palestinian commando units dislodged Lebanese Christian forces from the 27-story hotel.

1976: A Palestinian fighter sticks a portrait of Egyptian President Nasser on the wall of Holiday Inn hotel after Palestinian commando units dislodged Lebanese Christian forces from the 27-story hotel.

1985: A helmeted, Kalashnikov-armed Iraqi soldier walks among cartridges in the area of the al-Howeizah marshes, Southern Iraq, after his unit clashed violently with Iranian forces which tried to cut the Baghdad-Basra road. less

1985: A helmeted, Kalashnikov-armed Iraqi soldier walks among cartridges in the area of the al-Howeizah marshes, Southern Iraq, after his unit clashed violently with Iranian forces which tried to cut the ... more

1988: Schoolgirls in Islamic veils go through arms training as a Basijis while holding AK-47 automatic assault rifles and standing in front of pictures of martyrs of Iran-Iraq conflict in a mosque in Tehran.

1988: Schoolgirls in Islamic veils go through arms training as a Basijis while holding AK-47 automatic assault rifles and standing in front of pictures of martyrs of Iran-Iraq conflict in a mosque in Tehran.

1992: Two Mujahedeen with flowers in the barrels of their AK-47s, guard a crossroads in Herat, Afghanistan, shortly after they retook the city from the Soviet backed communist regime of Mohammad Najibollah.

1992: Two Mujahedeen with flowers in the barrels of their AK-47s, guard a crossroads in Herat, Afghanistan, shortly after they retook the city from the Soviet backed communist regime of Mohammad Najibollah.

Photo: Kaveh Kazemi, Getty Images

1992: Two Mujahedeen with flowers in the barrels of their AK-47s,... Photo-5636236.76606 - Houston Chronicle

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1992: A cadet aims a Russian-made AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle at the Syrian Women's Military Academy.

1992: A cadet aims a Russian-made AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle at the Syrian Women's Military Academy.

1996: A soldier belonging to a Taliban militia looks down the barrel of his AK-477 assault rifle to check for dirt on the front line north of Kabul. The Taliban warriors, who are believed to have emerged from religious seminaries, or madressas, in Pakistan, took to the Afghan scene in 1994, captured Kabul in 1996 and control two-thirds of Afghanistan, which has been at war for 20 years following the Soviet invasion of 1978. less

1996: A soldier belonging to a Taliban militia looks down the barrel of his AK-477 assault rifle to check for dirt on the front line north of Kabul. The Taliban warriors, who are believed to have emerged from ... more

1998: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) holds an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle with an expanded clip during a press conference calling for the end of a loophole in the law which allows imports of such products.

1998: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) holds an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle with an expanded clip during a press conference calling for the end of a loophole in the law which allows imports of such products.